This invention is related to the field of electronic financial transaction, and in particular to electronic value or money transfers. More specifically, the invention is related to systems and methods to evaluate such transactions for suspicious activities.
Electronic transactions play an important role in today's economy. Such transactions may include, for example, ACH transactions, credit card transactions, wire transfers, bank account transfers, and the like. Such transactions may be performed in a variety of ways, including, for example, by using the Internet, by using a phone to contact a service representative or an IVR system, by an in-person visit to a financial institution or money transfer location, and the like. For example, to perform a money transfer transaction a sender may visit a money transfer location and fill out a money transfer application. This application may request the sender's name, the name of the recipient and the amount of money to be transferred. This information is transmitted to a central database, and the money to be transferred is collected from the sender. When ready to receive the money, the recipient may proceed to a pick-up location and provide the proper identification. The database is accessed to confirm the recipient and the determine the amount of money to be paid to the recipient. After payment, the date and time of payment may also be transmitted to the database.
Unfortunately, it has been reported that some have attempted to abuse such money transfer systems including those associated with organized crime, drug dealers, terrorist organizations and the like. Various procedures exist to curb such abuses. For example, the United States' government has passed laws that encourage reporting of certain suspicious monetary transfer activities. See e.g., 18 U.S.C. §1956-57. However, these laws include specific reporting requirements that are well known by criminal elements, and thus easily avoided by manipulating money transfer activities to avoid detection. Recent events and the increased need for public safety have suggested a need to implement heightened monitoring of suspicious activities involving electronic financial transactions.
Hence, among other things, this invention is related to ways to monitor and evaluate transfers for value and other financial transactions in an attempt to detect potentially suspicious activities.